History Of Immigration In Georgia

Hi :) I'm Lika. Now I'm writing my first blog.. hopefully it would be successful for me :)
People write blogs for pleasure, but this time it's a part of the challenging competition for me. Out of 14 topics I have chosen "Georgian Immigrants", because i think that nowadays it's a pretty common problem in our country.

Leuvile cementory is a burrial ground to many Georgian immigrants
who had left country after the Soviet invasion of georgia of 1921.

Noe Zhordania

The intense immigration process in Georgia started in 1920s after the collapse of the first independent government of Georgia. The Democratic Republic of Georgia was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia. It existed from May 1918 to February 1921. Facing permanent internal and external problems, the young state was unable to withstand the invasion by the Russian Red Armies, and collapsed in  1921 to become a Soviet republic. The Government of the Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG) continued to function as the government in exile in France having the historical treasure of the government with them. A small town located near Paris - Leuville was declared as an official residence of the government in exile. 

The life in Leuville was difficult; there was neither  water nor  electricity supply and money quickly vanished, as well as any    hope of return to the homeland. The President Noe Zhordania and the members of the Government had to grow vegetables in the garden. They produced local vegetables but also Georgian red beans and Russian pickles, which were also produced by the local growers and jointly sold on the markets in Paris.

St. Nino's icon in the church

After the death of the founders of the real estate company, the Association for the Georgian Home was founded. Today, the castle is inhabited only in summertime. The Association organizes workshops, visits and celebrations. It also takes care of the tombs located in the "Georgian square", a part of the municipal cemetary of Leuville that was offered to the Georgian community. The Roman Catholic church of Leuville is also officially lent to the Georgian Orthodox Church for wedding and funerals; it houses an icon of St. Nino, the patron saint of Georgia.

On 26 May 2001, the National Day of Georgia, the municipality of Leuvillle twinned with the Georgian municipality of Mtskheta. The lounge of the castle of Leuville shows a few souvenirs from the Georgian government in exile, including photographies and the original independance act of the country, shown today flanked by the two national flags of Georgia.

                                                                                      Democratic Republic of Georgia 1918-1921

                                                                                              Russian occupation and uprisings